Graffiti artist EGS explores Kaj Franck’s footsteps in Ireland in a new commission
The new exhibition ‘Three Letters, Three Wells – A Pilgrimage in Glass’ premieres at Irish Design Week 2025
E-G-S and K-A-J. Three letters, two artists, different decades.
Finnish graffiti and contemporary artist EGS presents a new exhibition, Three Letters, Three Wells – A Pilgrimage in Glass, which will premiere in in Ireland in November as part of the Irish Design Week (17th - 21st November). The exhibition is inspired by the journey of Finnish design master Kaj Franck to Kilkenny, Ireland, in the early 1960s.
This autumn, EGS travelled to Kilkenny to trace Franck’s footsteps and explore what a dialogue between Finnish design and contemporary art might mean today. EGS describes the journey as one rooted in the possibility of getting lost, and in the exploration of detours and collaboration. The project was initiated and commissioned by the Finnish Institute in the UK and Ireland, in collaboration with the Design & Crafts Council Ireland.
Blending graffiti, glass sculpture, storytelling and sacred sites, the project reimagines what a design pilgrimage might look like today. The project was initiated and commissioned by the Finnish Institute in the UK and Ireland, in collaboration with the Design & Crafts Council Ireland.
Working alongside photographer Marko Rantanen and glassblower Rory Leadbetter of Jerpoint Glass, EGS visited three holy wells in Kilkenny: St. Moling’s, Kenny’s, and St. Augustine’s, using each as inspiration for a unique glass vessel. Created with Finnish birch ash, the works hold water from the wells, becoming containers of memory, mythology and movement.
“Travelling has always been central to my practice. As a graffiti writer, I learned to navigate through letters and movement. For this project, I wanted to create a new kind of map—one drawn in glass, air, and light,” EGS says.
The resulting installation combines glass works, drawings, photographs, film and a zine, forming an archive of collaboration between land, craft and contemporary art. The sculptures are not functional in the usual sense, though they do hold water drawn from the holy wells. “They are containers for memory, mythology, and movement—three letters in another language,” EGS concludes.
Three Letters, Three Wells – A Pilgrimage in Glass by EGS presented as part of Irish Design Week 17–21 November 2025
Opening Saturday 15 November 2025
About Design & Crafts Council Ireland
Design & Crafts Council Ireland (DCCI) is the national agency for craft and design in Ireland, we support designers and makers to develop their businesses in a sustainable way, and advocate for the societal benefits of craft and design. DCCI's activities are funded by the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment via Enterprise Ireland. DCCI currently has 68 member organisations and over 3,500 registered clients. www.dcci.ie (opens a new window)
About DCCI Irish Design Week
Design & Craft Council Ireland’s Irish Design Week is an initiative with storytelling at its core, that gives voice to the inspiration, process, purpose and impact of Irish and global design.
Launched in 2022, Irish Design Week runs annually and comprises a weeklong programme of events. This year, it will run from 17th – 21st November, with keynote events run by Design & Crafts Council Ireland (DCCI) in collaboration with leading industry partners taking place in the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin. A further 50+ events supported by DCCI will take place in 15 counties across Ireland during Irish Design Week.
www.IrishDesignWeek.ie (opens a new window)
People behind the project
EGS
Initially as a graffiti writer, EGS is known for his stylized world maps in which the three letters of his name are merged with geography, and has recently expanded his repertoire to sculpture and blown glass.